Happy Birthday Austin!

Our Dearest Austin,

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Dear Austin, Happy Birthday to you!

I wish I could be there to sing this to you in person! I hope you have a wonderful birthday and enjoy watching your Star Wars movies!

I just wanted to write a few words that I think describe you!

A wonderful big brother
Unique
Silly
Talented
Incredibly loved
Neat

We love you very much!
Aunt Heidi & Uncle Erik

Volunteers of America

So, I'm starting a new counseling internship tomorrow at Volunteers of America. In one of my classes, I had to do a presentation on this organization and I really think it offers a lot to the community so I thought I would share a little about it!

Here is a little bit of info from their website (http://www.voaut.org/):

Volunteers of America, Utah is a non-profit, spiritually based organization that nurtures, supports and uplifts the human spirit and empowers the people we serve to reach their full potential. We provide local human service programs and opportunities for individual and community involvement. In Utah, the agency operates ten programs in Salt Lake, Davis, Tooele, San Juan, Carbon, Grand, and Emery Counties and serves more than 10,000 individuals each year.

Volunteers of America, Utah operates programs in the areas of homeless outreach, substance abuse detoxification and treatment, housing case management and senior services. We measure success in positive change in the lives of individuals and communities we serve.

Volunteers of America, Utah is an interdenominational Christian Church that serves people of all faiths and invites the people of all faiths to join us in our work.

The involvement of volunteers, donors, religious organizations, social groups, the media, and civic organizations is crucial to the success of the organization.

The goal of Volunteers of America, Utah is to provide a continuum of services for individuals in need, to foster self-sufficiency and to provide opportunities for volunteer involvement.

I will get the chance to do individual counseling with individuals who were homeless at one point and have received housing through VOA. They are required to meet weekly to make sure they are meeting the requirements (e.g. like maintaining sobriety) to keep the housing.

I'll also be doing group counseling with clients who are suffering from substance abuse. The counseling services for the VOA are provided through Cornerstone Counseling so I get the opportunity to work with people from two great organizations!

If you are the type of person who likes to volunteer or donate, the VOA is a great place to do it! 88 cents out of every dollar supports community services for people in need!

K.. now I'll get off my soap box! I just really like this organization and thought I would share it with anyone out there who reads this blog (mainly my closest friends and family who get bugged about this information anyway!)

Loving What Is

I've come across an author that I think is excellent. Her name is Byron Katie. My teacher at school recommended reading her work.

Basically, she explains how our beliefs about our thoughts is what causes stress, anxiety, depression, and so on. Just because we believe something doesn't mean it is true (and in actuality most of our thoughts are not true.. weird huh?)

Another cool concept is that our feelings tune us into our thoughts that are not true. So, when you feel stressed, anxious, sad, or some other feeling, this is a sign that what you are currently thinking is not necessarily true. Meaning, you are believing a thought that is different from reality.

If you care to learn more about this cool concept (in my opinion anyway)... Check out Byron Katie! Here are some of her books!

And, secondly I have to apologize to those of you who think this type of stuff is just "psychobabble" but I'm in my school internship and I have to do reading and research for 15-20 hours a week so this is the kind of stuff that I'm totally immersed in right now! It's hard to find time to think about anything else when you are researching this kind of stuff all week long!

So, this is fair warning that my posts will probably most often relate to some psychological concept that you may or may not think is "NUTS!"

What a Darling!

So, this last Saturday Erik and I went over to Margaret's house to hang out with Makayla and it was a total blast! I was kind of feeling down over my crazy internship situation and so it was nice to leave that stress for a little while and hang out with cute, little Makalya. She...

Makes me laugh
Always gets joy from watching the airplanes
Keeps me smiling
Always finds joy in the simplest things (like playing with the glow in the dark bathtub ducks!)
Yells "HiYi" when I walk up... which I totally love
Laughs really loud which is so contagious
Always says "Ya!"

Spending time with her on Saturday made me so happy! She is such a Darling!

We love her very much!
HiYi and E